Bosso set for EGM

THE constitutional review update is likely to gobble most of the time at Highlanders' mid-season extraordinary general meeting to be held at the clubhouse on Sunday.

Highlanders' bona fide members are expected to review the club's first part of the season and also tackle other burning matters that might arise.

The club holds mid-season meetings where the chairman and treasurer present their reports.

It comes a month after Bosso held a consultative meeting where members tasked with leading the club's constitutional amendment briefed members on the progress they had made.

Members declined to accept the new draft, with others arguing that the committee had "rewritten" the constitution instead of amending it.

The general consensus at Highlanders is that the board is usurping executive powers, instead of playing an advisory role and in the process infringing on operations of the executive, which was voted for by members to ensure that the club functions properly.

The executive committee has a mandate to deliver to the electorate that voted them in.

Surprisingly, it is the board members who lead the sub-committees of organs meant to drive the club, meaning the executive takes a backseat while the board leads.

It is practically the board which runs operations at Bosso and it's mind-boggling to rate the elected executive committee's performance when their space has been usurped.

Proposals have been made for the board's indefinite lifespan to be reduced to a 10-year term.

The amended constitution is expected to clearly spell out roles of the council of elders, the executive and the secretariat led by the chief executive committee.

The chief executive officer must be given a responsibility to assemble a team so that should they fail to deliver, they can be fired.

Some members have also raised fears about the amended constitution, saying it seeks to give a few individuals that are elected to lead chapters the right to vote for the club's executive.

Already, there are no clear benefits for bona fide Highlanders members except the right to vote and some members view the move to deny them access to voting as an infringement of their rights.

Suggestions are that the chapters should be endorsed and permitted to operate under strict supervision of the club, with members still enjoying the same rights that they presently do.

"It should be noted that since we're saying the constitution is being aligned to suit club licensing, the status quo of membership must be retained. For example, Zifa is a member of Cosafa and Caf, but still enjoys full benefits of being a Fifa member.

"The other thing that must be done is aligning terms of people in office to be the same as those of Zifa or PSL. We are still saying the term of office for our members is three years, but Zifa and PSL's terms are four years. This means should a Highlanders official be voted into the PSL and they lose at Bosso after the end of the three-year club term, they then leave the PSL in a constitutional crisis.

"At one time we had Themba Ndlela being our chairman as well as the league's vice-chairman and when he left the former, the PSL had to hunt for a replacement. So, in essence let's have our elections held in the same year as those of Zifa and PSL," said a member.

Apart from constitutional matters, chairman Kenneth Mhlophe will present his first chairman's report on the club's progress, with treasurer Donald Ndebele also giving his report.

Bosso haven't won the championship in over a decade and Mhlophe will be expected to brief members on how the rebuilding project aimed at bringing glory to Bosso is shaping up.

Members will also be informed about proposed acquisitions and player movements. Winger Gabriel Nyoni made the grade at Botswana champions Township Rollers and details of his move will most likely be revealed at the meeting.

Both the chairman and treasurer's reports are also expected to capture what Highlanders have done to arrest the ballooning debt, which threatens the survival of the club. Bosso's debt is reportedly close to $1 million.

Members will also be briefed on nominations of suitable candidates for the board.